I bought a sheet of G10 on eBay (see pic). Then cut the wings using a jig saw with a blade that I bought from harbor freight that would cut abrasive material. Don't worry about how it looks at that stage. Then you sand the wings. Round the leading edge of both wings.
Then on the front wing foil (sand) the top surface only. Basically sand so that the leading edge is full thickness, then tapers down to the rear edge to be thin. Remember to pay attention to the tips to make them nice and thin. But the bottom of the front wing is left flat.
The rear wing I rounded the leading edge, then foiled both sides of the wing so that its semetrical (sic).

I thought the G10 would be hard to sand, but it's not bad. That's how the hand made windsurfer fins were made. Just wear protective gear.

yes , i have shaped same, with a 3/8 " sheet! , man thats saves bunch of work for sure.

considerably less ($) than carbon! i will definitely make a set from G10 . i knew i marked the Al for a reason!

an aluminum mast is in 70 $ range and beats out the ,carbon resin layup easily and 1/10 of the work!

oh choices ! man we're swimming in phun now!

thanks FLYFISH

Hey Phree,
Send me your address. I'll send you a paper templet of my wings. I did a ton of research on aspect ratio, and feel like mine are a good ratio. Not too high and not too low. (But agiain, I'd make a second set that's super fat to learn easier!)

ok , sessioned with fish board , heavier air than i would typically go in but this was offshore and flat stuff , so board indeed is fun! with the straps i felt clumsy but the board alone needs no straps, pretty sure the foil situation will want to use them.

and flyfish dropped sweet intel on foil build action and just may bag the carbon/glass bag stuff and straight to cut, grind and bolt... done!

Aluminum with G10 wings... way simple , and instantly effective.

and also got new Dakine low profile fusion harness ...phresh and deluxe

Nice! You liked the board as a directional?

I found waist or hybrid much better for the foil. You don't need to hold down power--you don't want to be powered at all, in fact. Ease of movement in the water and where it pulls from are better with a waist...

...for me

i was in solid TT wind on a 9m and flat so yeah its was easy and fun, much more nimble feeling than my sweet potato firewire which is a quad( fish is thruster setup). i would have never gone on my surf board in those conditions, the TT action is way to sweet! but since the straps were on it i did not think twice about it.

i am short waisted and have been through them all, seat is fine for me, AND i don't use straps on the seat. it just fits and does not ride up at all. i use more like a contoured waist with a butt cup, man that sounds funny.

Seat on the foil, I meant. Greatly prefer Fusion + Dynabar the rest of the time... I've a Mystic Star that I prefer if late.

You want some anhedral on those wings for yaw stability...or add a vertical stabilizer eg. TT fin...

exellent point on the twin tip fin for a stabilizer! great suggestion. i didnt put one on, but i think its a good idea.

i sent off those templetes. hopefully they help!

You need a longer fuselage too :D

Quote: Originally posted by Kamikuza

You need a longer fuselage too :D

that's what she said

the fuselage on the mock up is 750mm long, seems longer than most of the data i have seen. any longer i think the plane rate woud be too slow and add unnecessary stress fuselage body and produce undesireable drag which seemingly take more power to move. more would make it just too slow and negatively effect yaw .

the vertical stab on the rear is a thought i considered , but the body of the fuselage (and mast as well) add to yaw control esp with near 50mm in fuselage height , with the Al fuselage i have its 24.5mm so it is a possible add on. everything i have read discusses it but have yet to see only one , i think with fluid dynamics of water the fuselage is ample yaw moment control. and even a super small vertical tab <25mm would be more than plenty IF the steerage is super squirelly.

thanks FF , the G10 set of wings will be instantly! sweet for sure. the current wing set i have should finish out as the super fat set. the Al mast will reduce cost by easily 75% ! over the sexy carbon lay up which i'm kinda glad its currently derailed for the moment.

the prefab sheets just are gonna make it easier, than making my on sheets with the S glass.

thanks guys for adding to it. more mirth the merry!

another sesssion on the dakine Fusion on ATB yesterday , gonna order another one !!!

Cool! Looks really short in the picture :D

There's a thread at kf.com called "fuselage?" IIRC. A guy with a LF foil plays with lengths of fuselage... the stock is 610mm IIRC and the extended is 710, but he goes up to 200% longer with homemade... he decided that 150% was the best length, again IIRC, for various important reasons :D

hey thanks K, the shorter are snappy wave foils i believe, i am in right neighborhood of length. mast /fuselage point of connection i think has more effect of reaction rate. that is where i am most concerned for criticial placement...thinking closing to the TE of the front wing is favored for lift rate sensitivity.

i'll definitely check it out, seems i my have already. the more the better!

He he he...have a go, then get back to us about how soon you want to get into waves :D I really got to get a balance board...

Have a look at Greg of BoardridingMaui fame--his foil looks like a LF foil, with the mast further back from the TE of the wing. I think that's ok when the design speed for the foil is low, as when you get up to speed I think you'd have trouble weighting the front foot enough to keep it down--apparently a problem with over-powered LF foils...

Gent playing with length still thought the 150% was good in waves IIRC, being much better all around.

Just got a text from Scott at Maui boardriding! he's the other guy riding with greg. my wife worked with him in the late 90's... he told me that the foils are made by Jim Stringfellow in washington. they do have a unique wing tip on the main wing. and yeah looks alot like LF mast !

scott and greg have ultra smooth action in the waves, those guys are super nimble. like everything just takes practice, practice, practice. my friend tells me it'll be kicking my azzz for a while

Yea Phree, it WILL kick your ass! Good ass kicking, but super humbling.
In the liquid force tutorial videos they say just to swim around with it on first day. I didn't but see why they say to, because it feels like a tank that won't move the way you want it to at first. Then when you go to start, you'll be surprised (make that frustrated) how when you tip the board on its side, if you let go, it just sinks back to flat in no time. Thus the need initially for at least one strap to throw your foot into and hold it in place in order to start up. Trust me, that's where I thought "why would I need straps? I hate them on surf boards". I could not start without them. Then, once you stand up (and I do mean once you stand up) lean onto the front foot HARD. And then let the fun begin! You'll quickly understand the term porpous!

At any rate, don't worry about that now, just build the unit! Templets should get there this week!

sessioned on (foil) fish board, decent time and speeds , little joker is nice man. snappy carvy . straps ruin it. i have to drop the back one....after foil education prolly drop the front. straps are just in the way.

while foil is off, the bolt holes are fountains on the ride , for some reason makes my toeside so much stronger. i guess i'm more upright.

ran with 9m with solid wind, very comfortable setup. could run all day on it, kinda feel. definitely could see this as nice island hopper.

in chop was not too spanky at all, may be because of the load ! NOT a light wind board for a big rider, need solid TT air. for smaller rider may do well in light, jumbo skim board !

deep bargain fun there! foil parts comimg ,looking at next week.

What FlyFish said.

Body drag: get the board on its side, hold the front strap, get your body up the board cos the foil will lift it when it starts moving :o I hold the front step like I'm halfway through doing bicep curls, lie on my back like I'm on a deck chair, and enjoy the ride...

Starting: two options... this is for a port tack.
a. kite just to starboard. Board to starboard, flat in the water, facing downwind. Put your right hand on the tail's far rail, forearm across the board, lever it up and get your feet onto it. Redirect the kite for a regular water start...
b. kite just to port. Board to port, flat in the water, facing upwind. Put your left hand on the far rail ahead of the front strap, lever the board upright and get your feet onto it. Send the kite back to starboard and follow it with ththe board, then send it and water start...

Obviously, a. is the normal option but b. is good if you're lazy and can't be bothered moving the board around or your weak flying the kite with one hand or other.

First rides are spent wondering if you really need that weight in the front foot, not believing what's happening, then leaning back...BOING!

...

I had the rear strap come off mid-session once. It was tough riding the rest of the session. I want to go strapless sometimes, but I also want to jump. But gibing is tough when you trip over the straps...

just wrapped up orders for Al 6061, G10 sheet, including SS harware and LF nylon mount, under 120$. (shipping not included)

KK, Fly...so close i can taste the slammage! gotta get it going, looking like MAUI is on the horizion.

You can buy hex-cross section aluminum bar that is exactly what the LF fuselage is... Mill the top down, round the edges, and it'd be identical.

Looking forward to the phreek out report! There's a lot more phreedom coming your way :D

no session today, cut it.

and the start...$35 +10min. maybe shape tomorrow, if wind is down.


oh yeah, added +20mm to chord of front wing

Sweet!

Right on FLYFISH! despite 2 sessions this weekend i did manage to cut and true ends of mast and fuselage .

mast has been finished to 823mm by 4" x 1/2" (solid 6061)

fuselage is currently 723mm by 1" x 1/2" (LF is only about 630mm not counting plastic tips which around 20mm x 2) may add some variable taps for things like vertical stabilizer, rear wing advancement. mast position relative to wing LE, etc..

centered, marked and ready to drill/tap. hardware is all based on M8 SS, the LF pack is nice the nylon plate and bolts making things way too easy, only had buy 4 extra bolts , 2 for mast top and 2 longer for rear wing which i could've used the shorter in the pack but extra finishing work on wing does not fit the currently ultra low hassle coarse i am on.

also taken the time to do a diagram of all dimensions of mast/fuselage/relative bolt placement which i will add to Flyfish template sheet(+20mm of chord, which i laminated ) once all tested and proven phitness ...will make available on a pass along basis.

get some pics once assembled and then tighten up the shape and finish. oh what phun!

sessions and motoX trip have delayed progress...but Kami's vid has me amped hopefully get some full bolt pics tomorrow or friday.

scored first couple wetsuit free sessions!

making some head way, first dry assembly. still have some shaping, finishing and minor tweaking, glad to be this far.

may upsize fuselage , went with LF length (635mm)and mast positon.

feel like the fuselage at 1"x 1/2" will work but may duplicate in 1"x 3/4" and a fraction longer like 700mm and reduce rear wing width a fraction.

mast and wing shaping on deck , should get most over weekend if wind is down.

everything buttoned up real nice ..need to weigh it.

That's what I'm talkin about!
Love it!

As far as mast / front wing position, you basically want the front wing to be centered on your stance. Looks like you got that.

Remember when you are shaping the mast that the majority of drag comes from the rear not the leading edge. So if try to focus more energy into getting a nice tapered sharp (realitively) edge and the front can basically be rounded off.

Also remember to use lock tight on your hardware on final assembly. You don't want to lose your hard work to the bottom of the ocean.

Good job. It's soooo much more satisfying building your own!

Looking good!

I think you may want want a bit of fuselage nose poking past the LE of the wing, to protect it when you nail the bottom.
Also think you'll want a thicker fuse; I believe the OEM one is hex bar with 32mm between faces...? I can check that if you want, but you can buy it online at about $50 for a 3 foot length...if you live in the US

I've got the 710cm fuselage now. Had 2 sessions on the longest setting, and 1 today on the shortest, which is a tad longer than the old one. I think I prefer the shorter setting...

Looks like your wing has less area than the LF one...be interesting to hear how that works.

I can't believe you like the Fish by itself...I rode it last week; it was horrid. Skittish, didn't seem to want to go upwind, and not big/volume enough to use like a surfboard. Was fun jumping and not having to worry about it not being under my feet, though.

Sam--the board is simple technology, they probably churn them out in the zillions. Simple, but bloody solid. Walked the nose into a concrete wall today--no damage :D

thanks Fly!, the mast, top plate and wings really are spot on, the fuelage i want more beefy. the 1/2 is what i had and just a little torque flex has me concrened. for a ligther rider doubtful it would be a problem.

yeah the mast, round on front and tapered to a tight edge on the rear.

the loctite was my first choice but anti-sieze gets the job. once torqued they're not going anywhere.

man that was quick too, with the tap map i have i can make a fuselage in about 30min!..i might have 2hours in it total at this point

i figure i have about an hour of finishing to go.

the sweetness of your own build is deeply satisfying, you just can't reach that with $

hey KK, i have stuck to the LF layout on fuselage (1:1 image harvest with inset reference ) and they don't cover LE of front wing

the wing is less chord than the LF, i hoping it has a fraction less drag and a speedier effect. it is much bigger than most DIY for starter setup also a bit wider.

its just like FlyFish setup but +20mm of chord, his apparently works fine being even smaller(which he said was harder to learn on )

love the little board for sure, took the back strap off and its nice and rippy, way more nimble the my surfboard.

when i tool out the fatter fuselage (which only $12 ) may set at 635mm (maybe+20mm or so) roughly same as LF without tips

its coming together, thanks KK .

I can measure my fuse, if you like...I *think* it's better than the shorter one, but that one's bent so who knows :D

Some of the DIY set ups I've seen...I reckon you could ride two planks of unshaped wood. Won't matter in the beginning, and when you're a half-meter off the water, "normal" speed seems way too fast! Especially when it's ventilating on you :-/